LOS ANGELES — California could see more than $300 million invested in television and online ads, billboards, door-to-door visits and other sales pitches and promotions to convince uninsured residents to enroll in national health care coverage, a potentially unprecedented level of spending to sell a government program in the nation's most populous state.

The state agency guiding President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, Covered California, faces a monumental task to reach millions of people without insurance and sway them to sign on, while overcoming geographic, language and cultural barriers.

Nationwide spending on publicity, marketing and advertising to promote the health overhaul could hit at least $684 million, according to data compiled The Associated Press from federal and state sources. About one in four of those federal dollars will be targeted for California, or more than $174 million, according to the AP review.

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